THE CHAOS GAME

From New Jersey, an intense sci-fi concept album with a penchant for mathematical titles and lyrical themes. There's a lot of stretching into different musical avenues. Production drawbacks keep it from being a totally pleasurable listen, hurt by thunky sample drums, brittle digital piano and strident vocals. Still, worth a listen. They wouldn't be the first band to develop from a promising but flawed debut to later unalloyed brilliance. Best tracks are "Angular Sterility" with its thick, clashy riff layers, the slower and more suspenseful "Doomsday Algorithm," fast meter-switching "Fractometer" and the concluding "The Clockwork Pheasant" with its Watcher of the Skies-derived intro, avalanche of musical detail and even widdly synth.